The OECD Skills Strategy Framework and Dashboard serve as tools for supporting countries to develop skills strategies. In mapping the dimensions of skills policy, the OECD Skills Strategy Framework helps countries to reflect on and define the scope of their strategies. Complementing this framework, the Dashboard provides a comprehensive, high-level snapshot of countries’ performance across the same dimensions with the aim of helping countries to identify their policy priorities. The Dashboard can be adapted to provide similar analysis for non-member countries and entire geographic regions.
OECD Skills Strategy Framework
The OECD Skills Strategy Framework is composed of 3 inter-related dimensions:
- Developing relevant skills across the life, underscores the importance of developing a broad set of skills, as well as the skills that are in demand in the labour market and society. It also highlights that these skills can be developed throughout life through formal education in schools as well as through non-formal education and training and informal learning in workplaces, homes and communities.
- Using skills effectively in work and society, underscores that countries and people should aim to gain the full economic and social value from investments in skills by adopting practices that will allow people to use their skills effectively. This means ensuring that people find jobs, find jobs that are well matched with their skills, and wherever they are using their skills, whether it be the workplace or society, using them fully.
- Strengthening the governance of skills systems, highlights the need for whole-of-government approaches to skills policies; effective engagement of stakeholders; well-targeted and shared skills financing; and accessible and high-quality learning and skills information.
OECD Skills Strategy Dashboard
The OECD Skills Strategy Dashboard provides an overview of countries’ performance across the different dimensions of the OECD Skills Strategy Framework. It provides a starting point for countries and the OECD to analyse and identify their key policy priorities.
The Dashboard is based on core indicators used in the OECD Skills Strategy projects.
The Dashboard provides an overview of countries’ performance across the different dimensions of the Skills Strategy Framework. It includes indicators of the level of performance, trends in performance, and equity in performance across the life course. A total of 38 key outcome indicators are grouped into 18 aggregated indicators. Colours in the Dashboard represent the quintile position of the country in the ranking. While blue dots indicate comparatively strong performance, grey dots indicate potential areas for improvement.
The Dashboard has two main pillars. The first, “Developing relevant skills”, explores the extent to which countries are effectively developing skills of individuals across the life course. This is captured by the achievements of youth and adults based on international standardised tests (PISA and PIAAC), educational attainment, participation in lifelong learning, equitability of education across different backgrounds, and more.
The second pillar, “Putting skills to effective use” reflects the extent to which skills are used effectively in workplaces and the labour market. This is captured by indicators such as the labour force participation, differences in participation across gender and education level, innovation measures, the use of skills such as reading and ICT at work, as well as trends across these indicators, and more.
Note: The Skills Strategy Dashboard has a focus on outputs of the skills system. A list of relevant indicators has been selected and aggregated and normalised in such a way that a higher value and being among the “Top 20%” reflects better performance. Colours in the dashboard represent the quintile position of the country in the ranking. The "x" indicates insufficient or no available data for the underlying indicators, and dotted circles indicate missing data for at least one underlying indicator. Data was not available for all aggregate indicators for all countries, particularly due to absence in the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). For Belgium (Flanders), United Kingdom (England and Northern Ireland), a combination of regional (PISA and PIAAC on the level of Flanders, England and Northern Ireland) and national data have been used depending on the source. Additional details on underlying indicators can be found in the publication: OECD Skills Strategy 2019: Skills to Shape a Better Future.